Southern Arizona has an education gem resting in Santa Cruz County. Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Angelina ‘Angel’ Canto has been with Nogales Unified School District (NUSD) for 27 years. “I went in to fill a position for 9 weeks and that 9 weeks turned into 27 years and counting,” Canto said. “I just really enjoy it [Nogales Unified School District].”

At a recent job fair hosted by NUSD, Canto reflected on some of the things that make Nogales Unified a fantastic place to work. “I think being here on the border and really our bicultural, bilingual situation makes us very unique and makes our students very special,” Canto said.  “I think for me the big thing that’s always kept me here and excited about working here is that I love our children and our families. I’ve worked in a bigger city; it’s not the same. It’s very close knit. There is so much teamwork that exists between the administration, the teachers, school staff, and parents. It’s just really the community at large.”

Canto also expressed the compensational benefit of working in the district.  “We really are above in categories due to providing up to 12 years of experience to new hires which would allow one to start on step 13. In addition to these funds, we provide $150 from Indian Gaming funds, $6,200 from Prop 301 funds, and $1,500 annually from the override, which our community passed. We also pay 100% of the employee’s medical and dental coverage (with a very good plan) and $10,000 life insurance for the staff member.”

Currently, Nogales offers starting teachers with a bachelors degree and no experience $33,870, which is above average among the other schools in Pima, Cochise, and Santa Cruz Counties. Those with a masters degree and no experience start at $36,703, which also ranks above the average.

In conjunction with a competitive compensation package, the district recently participated in a project by joining a consortium to improve internet service countywide via The Schools and Libraries (E-rate) Program. The collaboration resulted in lower monthly internet bills and increased internet speed for multiple schools and libraries in Santa Cruz County.

The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) gives an overview of The Schools and Libraries (E-rate) Program from a handout on their website. USAC explains that E-rate “provides discounts to assist eligible schools and libraries to obtain affordable Internet access and telecommunications services. E-rate funds the following service types: Data Transmission Services and/or Internet Access, Internal Connections, Managed Internal Broadband Services, and Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections. Discounts range from 20-90 percent of the costs of eligible services, depending on the level of poverty and the urban/rural status at the school district level. Eligible schools, school districts, and libraries, may apply individually or as part of a consortium.”

Canto explained that, “by working together with our county school superintendent office, with Mr. Velasquez, now we are not only benefitting, Rio Rico, Santa Cruz Elementary, District 35 is benefitting. Sonora school district is benefitting. Patagonia elementary and high school district, even one of our charters Mexicayotl Academy is benefitting, the libraries here in this county and even one of our Catholic schools.”

At the job fair, the district advertised openings in K-5, secondary math, language arts, and science teachers as well as special education teachers at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

If you interested in all of what Nogales has to offer, be sure to check out their .

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This week, chambers of commerce from across the state joined together at the Arizona State Capitol for the 2019 Advocacy Day at the Legislature hosted by Arizona Chamber Executives (ACE). Anne Gill, President and CEO of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce and Chair of ACE explained that, the purpose of the event is “to hear from our state’s top officials about the biggest issues affecting the business community in 2019.” Speakers covered the top legislative issues affecting Arizona and the federal issues that impact the business community, specifically.

The event provides a great opportunity for rural chambers to give voice to their top priorities for 2019 and to share what they are doing to support businesses in their area.

John Courtis, Executive Director of the Yuma Chamber of Commerce expressed that due to Yuma’s deeply rooted (pun intended) impact and involvement in agriculture, water is one of their major priorities this year. “If we don’t have the DCP (Drought Contingency Plan) done, if we don’t get it done correctly, it will ruin Yuma. Yuma, with no water, no agriculture, there is no Yuma. Our location quotient for agriculture is 25, which means 1 in 4 businesses in Yuma County are dependent on agriculture.”

An additional focus for Yuma leaders is roads. “We have some serious infrastructure problems in Yuma County,” Courtis said. “The road from Arizona Western College to Yuma Proving Ground is the busiest two-lane road in the state.” The road is used by locals driving to and from work each day in conjunction with large corporations and the Army that are doing major tests at the Yuma Proving Ground. Upon speaking with consultants about the main road, Courtis said they “labeled it as a failed road.”

“What I love about Yuma is that people don’t care about who gets the credit, let’s just get the job done,” Courtis said.  

The Lake Havasu Chamber of Commerce is also looking to address issues surrounding water as Lake Havasu plays a large role in their community. Lisa Krueger, president and CEO of the Lake Havasu Area Chamber of Commerce, said one of her top priorities for 2019 is water but “not just the drought contingency plan.”

According to Krueger, water issues include metropolitan areas trying to take water from rural Arizona because of their increased population size and the federal government’s attempts to shut down recreational water use in rural areas.

“Over the years, we’ve had to battle with the Feds to keep areas of Lake Havasu and the Colorado River open for recreation,” Krueger said. “In both cases, the local chambers and government entities were not even invited to the table to hear [why]. These agencies always seem a bit surprised when they do show up in Havasu to an audience of 1,000 or more residents who are vocal and protective of our community’s assets.”

Despite the water struggle, Lake Havasu does a great job of supporting local businesses. “We work in partnership with Go Lake Havasu, the tourism promotion entity and the Partnership for 91ֱ��, both contracted with the City, to market our city as a place to grow business and recreate. The Chamber works more specifically on nurturing businesses once established,” Krueger said.

The trend in addressing water concerns dominated the discussion with the chambers as Buckeye is also looking to find areas in which the precious resource can be saved. President and CEO of the Buckeye Chamber of Commerce Deanna Kupcik said that water is “very important to us because we’re exploding population wise.” Kupcik explained that one of the major areas that Buckeye is seeking reform to address the water issue is with the Salt Cedar trees along the Gila River. “They [Salt Cedars] drink up to 200 gallons of water a day. So if we could eradicate those, look at all the water we would have!”

Buckeye is supporting their business community and those looking to come to the city in the future by “putting in the needed infrastructure that manufacturers need.  It is important to grow jobs as our population grows,” Kupcik said.

The Sierra Vista Chamber of Commerce, which had a change in leadership in the last six months, is putting its focus back on core functions- improving and strengthening their connection with and support for businesses.  Executive Director Jennifer Martin explained that, “our goal is that we are working toward the three C’s, which is a new part of the chamber industry. So the three C’s stand for being a Champion of your community, being a Convener of leaders and influencers, and a Catalyst for business growth.” The chamber has been compiling lists that lay out what member-to-member benefits exist and businesses that support military personnel, which have a large presence in Sierra Vista with Fort Huachuca, with the intention to further support and connect individuals within the chamber and surrounding chambers.

Martin explained that within the Sierra Vista community they have a highly educated workforce. “Fort [Huachuca]is a major player in not only our state, but our country’s defense and other things,” said Martin. “We are a unique community and we kind of are the hub of the wheel with all of these smaller towns around us that come in. So, we really need to do a better job of saying, ‘we’re here, now let’s do something. Let’s fix what we need to fix and work together to make it even better than what it is.’”

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The female presence in the workforce and in business development is growing with each day, but not without the support of their surrounding community.

In 1998, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) helped to pass The Women’s Business Ownership Act, which prevented financial lenders from discriminating against female business owners when applying for loans. According to a nationwide American Express study, between 1997 and 2017. Women-owned businesses employ nearly 9 million people as of 2017, generating approximately $1.7 trillion in revenue.

Although these numbers are encouraging, female-owned businesses still require an immense amount of support to sustain and thrive in this competitive business climate. Cindy Gordon, member of the leadership team for ATHENA Valley of the Sun and founder of Business Rescue Coaching, expressed where she is seeing this support for women in business in the state.

“Arizona has an abundance of organizations and businesses that provide support for women business owners – at all stages of growth,” Gordon said. “There are free resources such as Arizona Women’s Education and Employment (AWEE) and Small Business Development Council (SBDC), which offer educational programs and counseling. For a more individualized level of guidance, women can find workshops and coaching programs offered by companies, like mine, owned by seasoned business leaders.”

Gordon continued to explain why female leaders are a vital asset in the community. “Women are role models for younger generations. We function at a very high level, building businesses, raising children and giving back to our communities.”

Female co-working spaces such as Hera Hub Phoenix are gaining traction all across the country, and in Arizona, as they offer women the opportunity to have an office where they can hold meetings and events, but not at a stifling expense. Shatha Barbour, the founder and owner of Hera Hub Phoenix, expressed why it is important to encourage and aid women in their business pursuits.

“If we just reach 50/50 representation, women business owners will add 80,000 jobs to the local economy,“ Barbour said. “Women run a wide variety of businesses, in many different industries.  When these businesses succeed, you’ll see a ripple effect in the entire state including positive impact on the education system, economic and financial system, and community enhancement for cities.”

A unique component of female-owned businesses is that “they provide services and products that are many times overlooked in the marketplace.  They also provide input to create better services and products that resonate with the female demographic,” explained Barbour.

A venue where women can share their services and products is the Mom Made Market, which gives mothers in business the chance to present their unique craft through a supportive and well-established platform. In February, Arizona hosted the nationwide traveling market, which gave over 150 local mom-made vendors the chance to share their business with the community. Currently, the market also travels to Hawaii, San Diego, Portland, and Orange County and will continue expanding their reach as they take applications for future market locations.

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An initiative currently held up in litigation could let voters choose whether to fund the South Central Light Rail Expansion or divert the money to infrastructure improvements instead. The controversy surrounding this expansion has created a clear line between those in favor and those opposed.

A citizen group, Building a Better Phoenix, introduced the proposal, which presents Phoenix voters with a choice to continue moving forward with the approved plan, which The Phoenix City Council approved in 2018, to extend the light rail into South Central Phoenix with two lanes of traffic, or, to instead use the funds to repair city roads and extend the bus routes in South Phoenix.  

“The initiative does multiple things. One, it fixes all of the roads. It keeps the light rail that is there, but all future light rail monies goes to fixing roads and our bus system,” Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio, a strong supporter of the proposed initiative, said. “The other thing that it does on a more local level is that the monies that are designated for the South Central Line, all those monies stay in South Phoenix for infrastructure.”

DiCiccio believes infrastructure improvement is vital for the success of the city and the state. “When you’re marketing your city people look at your roads,” he said. “They look at your overall government. They look at everything. Is it a favorable place for business? They also look at the packaging [infrastructure] of a city. So when you have people coming in here and they see our roads, which are no different than they are back east, that’s a problem. We used to have the best infrastructure and now we are one of the worst.”

Celia Contreras, local business owner of Tony’s Window Tinting and founder of the anti-light rail group “4 Lanes and No Train”, expressed why she believes the light rail expansion must be reevaluated. “Central Avenue has a lot of traffic. We cannot survive with one lane,” Contreras said. “They tell us already that 70% of the traffic will go to 7th avenue and 7th street. We are businesses that depend on the traffic. We cannot survive with only 30% of the traffic. Who can survive the 4 years of construction? No customers, no [vehicle] traffic. It’s dead. So we are concerned. We don’t want the light rail.”

Contreras fears if the expansion were to be carried out, that it would “damage our community.”

Alternate views in support of the South Central Light Rail Expansion come from another local business owner on Central Avenue, Mack Gleekel president of Lane Award Manufacturing. “I just think of how many people it could help in South Central and South Phoenix area that don’t have transportation,” he said. “It’s a good thing for that and the future for all of us really.”

To Gleekel what ultimately matters is the long-term impact of the project. “We believe it’s good for the future of the city and great for that part of Phoenix, of South Phoenix, that really gets neglected and doesn’t ever get any funds. So they are going to get a beautification of the street, they are going to get better lighting. A lot of different things are going to happen down Central that would not happen if the light rail weren’t put in.”

Hillary Foose, Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives for Valley Metro, which operates the light rail system, says they are making sure to mitigate disruption to local businesses during construction. “In terms of economic development, we understand there may be some challenges for businesses in the area during construction,” Foose said. “However, the South Central Extension has the largest budget for business assistance than any previous rail project. This includes extensive programs for marketing assistance, financial planning, signage, assessments and special events. Longer-term, we have found that businesses along the light rail have seen an increase in their customer base.”

A recent Quality of Life Report out from Valley Metro found the following impacts of the light rail: “Residents have more access to grocery stores, 19,133 tons of air pollutants were prevented from reaching the atmosphere, and 20 new K-12 schools and 21 new vocational and community colleges have opened.”

If the initiative survives the legal challenge, it will be referred to the citywide ballot on August 27, 2019.

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February is Black History Month and Arizona community leaders, businesses and educators are involved in a variety of events that celebrate, commemorate, and reflect on the African American impact and experience in our country. A number of events and outreach initiatives invite the state of Arizona to participate in Black History Month.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day served as an unofficial kickoff for Black History Month where many groups began hosting events honoring the African American community and its influence in our state.

The Phoenix Suns, in collaboration with local non-profit Elevate Phoenix and manufacturing group Carlisle Companies Inc., created a special project in honor of Black History Month. For the entirety of February, Suns players will wear customized sneakers that depict images of moments in history woven in with personal experiences of the player. The shoes will be sold at the end of the month where proceeds will be donated to Elevate Phoenix, which helps serve urban youth in creating meaningful relationships in partnership with Carlisle Companies.

Chris Koch, president and CEO of Carlisle Companies, spoke about their involvement with the project and why it was important for them to participate. “As the nation reflects on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and his fight for social justice and civility, Carlisle Companies and our employees are inspired by his message, and believe it is important to do our part to support, encourage and contribute in impactful ways to increase civility and service in our community, in our state, and in our country.”

Alan “AP” Powell, a prominent leader in the philanthropic community and founder of the Herozona Foundation, expressed why he believes celebrating the African American community is essential for a growing state. “It shows the unification of Arizona. We are unified. It is one of those states that is just progressing.”

“For me personally, Black History Month shows the heritage of the state, but it also is a time to be proud of those who went before us, leaders who went before us, to highlight their dedication and their commitment to change and diversity.”

Powell, through American Legion Post #65 and sponsorship of APS, is hosting an event called PlayItForward celebrating the arts and Black History Month. He explained that, “we are taking inner city kids from the three schools in South Phoenix, which are South Mountain High School, Betty Fairfax, and Caesar Chavez and we are going to take 10 students from each school down to see the play [Two Trains Running], so that we can actually show arts and culture, especially for inner city kids, during Black History Month.” The event takes place on February 28th at the Herberger Theatre.

The Maricopa Community College District has also planned a number of events to further inform and involve individuals in Black History Month. “We are excited about the meaningful events we have planned this year in honor of Black History Month,” said Dr. Maria Harper-Marinick, MCCCD Chancellor. “These celebrations are an important tradition at the Maricopa Community Colleges. We invite our community to join us in enriching our lives through commemorating the contributions and legacy of African Americans.” 

Additional events will be hosted by the state universities and can be found by visiting , , and .

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The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, created another avenue for investors to entrust unrealized capital gains through the form of . These designated geographical areas are selected by the state and then approved by the federal government. Qualifying areas must meet the requirements established to mark them as economically distressed.

Arizona was one of the first states, through the intentional efforts of Governor Ducey, to submit Opportunity Zones to the federal government for final approval. There are that have been certified in Arizona.

NAIOP-Arizona recently hosted an event examining the value in Opportunity Zones for both real-estate leaders and their clients.

Brett Johnson, founder and partner of the Fortuitous Partners and co-chairman and shareholder of Phoenix Rising Football Club, spoke at the event sharing how opportunity zones have helped Phoenix Rising.

The team currently plays in a temporary stadium on tribal land in Tempe, near McClintock and the Loop 101.  This area is one of the qualifying Opportunity Zones in Arizona. Johnson, in collaboration with the financial firm Goldman Sachs, created the Opportunity Fund Fortuitous Partners “with the intent of using this program for Phoenix Rising.”

“We see the program as a phenomenal vehicle to do exactly what the intent of the program is – to create a lot of jobs, to develop areas that might not have attracted private and/or public capital to begin with,” Johnson said. “We are beyond excited about how it will shift the trajectory of these assets in the state of Arizona.”

Although this Fund will initially benefit the development of the Phoenix Rising stadium complex, Johnson explains it will serve the community at-large.

“We see this program as a way to build training facilities and if we build training facilities and kids and adults are going there, they are going to want a place to shop,” Johnson said. “They are going to want a place to eat and then you’re probably going want to build some other assets like multi-family, etc. We think there is a fantastic virtuous cycle of economic activity we can create around the program. So we are really looking to develop 30+ acres and create a bunch of assets, hotel, multi-family, retail, residential. Assuming that we continue to do what we are doing is one day to get an MLS (Major League Soccer) franchise for investors to own a stake in, an asset that you can hold on to for more than 10 years that will appreciate significantly not to pay tax on it.”

Johnson shared his optimism about the project. “We are going to make a difference with this program,” he said. “ I am excited to start to see this move forward and do what everyone intends for it to do, which is create jobs, start development, and make it all worthwhile.”

By visiting the , you will be able to find additional details about Opportunity Zones and look at a map with the designated Opportunity Zone locations in Arizona.

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The recent imposition of tariffs with some of our largest trade partners have left many American companies with a big decision to make: raise the price of products to cover new costs, or take the financial burden upon yourself?

For some, the decision may obviously be the former; however, there is a company that is going against the norm and looking to change that.

Master Electronics, headquartered in Phoenix, provides electronic components to major industrial, medical, military, aerospace and consumer groups around the world. The goal of the business is to offer a variety of part numbers that are of exceptional quality, thus giving their customers an extensive breadth of options.

With the changes that have occurred, Master Electronic has chosen to take the brave and uncommon stance of not passing along the costs of tariffs to their customers.

“I want to help our customers and businesses not have disruption and cost issues and I am willing to do that and help them, which in the long term is going to help them feel good about us,” Riad Nizam, president of Master Electronics, said.

When Nizam was asked how they are managing this new cost, he described that, “really, it is kind of business as usual.” However, he also added, “we are definitely looking at ways to mitigate some of the costs, especially with our export business.”

Master Electronics has found that they are able to take on the short-term costs in hopes of seeing a long-term payoff. “Now we have customers that trust us more, that are willing to do more business with us than they were willing to do in the past because we were able to help them in a time of need,” Nizam said.

Nizam explains how keeping prices as-is despite the tariffs could be a marketing strategy for some of their other products and services that may have not otherwise been considered.

For other companies that are looking to follow in Master Electronics’ footsteps, Nizam suggests developing partnerships with companies that have already put these ideas into motion. He also expressed that companies should plan their supply chain accordingly.

Doug Bruhnke president of the Global Chamber commended Nizam’s approach., “It takes a courageous and customer-focused leader to absorb these significant tariff costs,” Bruhnke said. “Anyone taking this track should speak with one of our member experts first to better understand what is expected.”

Master Electronics’ promise is that regardless of the tariff costs, the price of their products will remain the same under regular market conditions.

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It is the fourth year for the California-based news source Entrepreneur to release their “E360 List”, which gives readers a comprehensive overview of the top 360 small businesses throughout the nation each year. “E360 is all about celebrating growing, well-rounded companies,” Jason Feifer, Editor and Chief of the magazine said. “We know that growth or revenue numbers don’t tell the whole story of any company, which is why we base our rankings off of a wide range of data points.”

In order to be considered for such an award, the companies must first be invited to apply. Following the submission of their application, they are assessed and evaluated by an advanced algorithm and analytics that are not released to the public. However, Feifer explained that “we look at revenue and customers, business valuation, financial evaluation, innovation, and management efficiency”, which are all key data points used to make this assessment.

Entrepreneur has created individual profiles for each of the awarded businesses, which provide visual representations of some of these essential factors.  These profiles can be found by visiting and clicking on the company name.

For the year of 2018, seven Arizona businesses were recognized: Everything Etched, V Digital Services, Ketamine Wellness Center, Company Nurse, Fasturtle Interactive, Knife & Fork Media Group and East Valley Property Management. The seven Arizona companies, Feifer described, “have all found a specific niche and shown solid business growth while all being profitable. Their performance on our list shows them to be well-managed companies with solid products or services.”

Knife & Fork Media Group is located in Phoenix and works tirelessly as a full service marketing and public relations team. Susie Timm, president of the media group, expressed her excitement to receive this award. “Entrepreneur recognizes well-rounded businesses for this particular award—they do a literal 360 degree review of everything including employee retention, growth, community stewardship etc. We are blessed to hit the mark in many areas.”

Timm also explained the impact that living in Arizona has had on their success. “I have lived in the Phoenix metro area since 1992—so for me, living here and owning a business here is the perfect combination as I have very long standing relationships with many, many community influencers. I am able to find solutions for our business, employees and clients very rapidly due to my vast network. This is possible when you have community roots. “ Knife & Fork Media Group was listed as number 324 on the list in 2018.

Company Nurse, LLC is the 237th business listed and is based out of Scottsdale. Founder and President Paul Binsfeld gave more insight into his company and their success. “As the first nurse triage service for workplace injuries, Company Nurse has always been an industry changemaker. Since the beginning, we’ve been driven by the purpose of lessening the pain of workers’ comp. Our investments in people and technology have helped us to do just that and continue to strengthen our position as a market leader. We’re proud to see our hard work recognized by being named one of the ‘Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America.’” When asked what the year of 2019 will hold, Binsfeld responded, “we’re expecting healthy growth this year. To meet this growth, we are continuing to invest in our technology, widen our contact center capabilities, and expand our team.”

Scottsdale-based Everything Etched focuses on the little, meaningful details of creating personalized, one of a kind items. Founder and president Tyler Cadwell expressed his deep appreciation and expectations for the coming year. “It’s an honor to be selected for the Entrepreneur 360 List. Our team has worked very hard to grow the company and to receive recognition for it is very rewarding and motivating. The last 2 years were about building a good team and a solid foundation for growth. Now that we have that, the next few years are going to be an exciting time for Everything Etched. We have plans for major expansion in the years to come. This is just the start of something great.”

There is a wide age range in the businesses selected from Arizona, which Feifer explained, speaks to the business environment today, “It’s possible to start a company that thrives almost immediately, but also, with the right leadership and willingness to adjust to changing marketplaces, strong companies can stand the test of time and still be growing decades later,” Feifer said.

Visit to see the complete list for 2018 along with the company specific profiles.  

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If you are a regular consumer of eggs in the state of Arizona, then the name “Hickman’s” should not be unfamiliar to you. This local, family owned and operated business has reached its 75th year of serving our bellies and community and that’s no eggs-aggeration.

Veronica Garcia of Hickman’s Marketing and Public Relations team explained the story of how the company first got started in Arizona 75 years ago. “Hickman’s Family Farms began in Glendale, Arizona in 1944 when Nell Hickman began raising a few hens for fresh eggs for her family,” Garcia said. “The practice was not widespread in Glendale, so Nell added to her flock as neighbors began purchasing the fresh eggs from her back porch. In 1957, Nell’s daughter-in-law, Gertie, became her partner and the two women went into business selling eggs out of the back seat of a ’55 Ford Coupe to local cafés and grocery stores. Today, Hickman’s Family Farms is the largest egg producer west of the Rockies and proud to be celebrating our 75th year of business.”

The highly successful company now has four locations throughout the state, one of which is in the city of Buckeye. President and CEO of the Buckeye Chamber of Commerce Deanna Kupcik spoke about why Hickman’s Family Farms has been a great addition to their community over the years. “Having Hickman’s Family Farms in Buckeye is a great fit with our agricultural heritage and mindset,” Kupcik said. “Besides the large number of jobs they bring to our community, the program they have in place to employ inmates from the Lewis Prison after they have been released is innovative.  They even provide housing and a savings program to assist with integration back into society.”

Hickman’s not only has the future of our community in mind through their job support efforts, but in recent years have also made a huge push for “greener” practices. “One of the biggest innovations is our cage-free hen housing which we began in 2015,” Garcia said.  “This affords our hens the ability to roam freely inside their fresh-air environment where they are watered and fed, protected from predators and happily monitored by our staff, nutritionist and on-staff veterinarian.”

They have also adopted 100% recycled PET packaging, which is made from 3-5 water bottles per carton. “This carton saves bottles from ending in landfills and through this effort, Hickman’s can recycle on average—1 million bottles per week,” Garcia said. These environmentally friendly cartons are visibly identifiable by their key-lime green, fully transparent packaging. With innovative measures such as these, consumers can not only see all angles of the eggs to check for breakage, but they can also feel good about the eggs they are eating.

Hickman’s believes that the biggest reason for their success in reaching 75 years of business, and hopefully many more in the future, is attributed to their focus on innovation. Their aim is to be forward thinkers with an adaptive mindset to meet the needs of their consumers.

Hickman’s Family Farms eggs products can be found all throughout Arizona, California, Colorado and Hawaii.

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Yani and Jodi Deros, the power couple of innovation and founders and CEOs of ATOM Innovation and Product Development, reside in the Phoenix neighborhood of Ahwatukee. ATOM is located in Scottsdale at ASU SkySong and is highly recognized for its creation of the S2 Framing Hammer. This award-winning tool is sleek and thoughtfully made in order to reduces shock to the user, have a long lasting and durable handle and allow for easy replacement of the head.

The owners are again in the limelight for the creation of CIRQ+ Technology. The Deros identified a hole in the hospitality market to provide updated technology devices that would not only improve the guest experience, but also save hotels money.  

CIRQ+ is a device that, in the most basic sense, will replace and improve clock radios and charging stations. Upon closer inspection, ATOM has made it so the charging port can easily be swapped out over time when the former technology becomes obsolete. There is also the option to provide additional outlets as well, so there is no need for guests to lug around multiple charging converters, especially in overseas travel. This alone will save hotel owners money and give them an incentive to invest in a quality device and keep it up to date for their guests as technology continues to change.

Cofounder Yani Deros explained what went into creating the CIRQ+ technology: “We have engaged with almost 1,000 hotels and properties around the world to capture their challenges, aspirations and unmet needs that eventually built the foundation of CIRQ+.  As a result we found an incredible opportunity to develop a technology solution that could transform any hotel room in the world instantly modernizing the space with one system.”

Yani continued to explain the unique benefits of the technology to the user and hotel owners. “The system consolidates numerous legacy in-room products into a unified solution – from EMS [Energy Management System], power outlets, charging, alarm clock, Bluetooth speaker, to thermostat controls and more. Guests can control their in-room settings from an app on their mobile phone or from the CIRQ+ in-room hub, giving them comfort, convenience and connectivity at their fingertips. Additionally, guests have the ability to migrate their personal preferences from CIRQ+ enabled properties to maximize their experience, build loyalty and add value.”

Once the technology is in place, the money saving will begin. Within CIRQ+, there are sensors that monitor when the room is in use. Thus, when motion is not detected, power and thermostat preferences will be turned off until the sensors are notified that the room is occupied again. The goal is to eventually link with water systems as well, so that wasteful usage of the precious resource does not occur.

Currently, three Arizona hotels are using, or have plans to use, the device in their rooms. The Clarendon Hotel and Spa was the first to integrate the new technology. Charles Morman, Chief Technology Officer at the Clarendon explained, “so far, the hotel has seen substantial reductions in energy use for rooms equipped with the CIRQ+ system.” He continued, “the CIRQ+ system allows us to reduce energy use on a room-by-room basis, without degrading the guest experience.” The Scottsdale Plaza resort is in line to receive the new technology soon as well as the Element Hotel at SkySong, which is currently under construction.

Executive Vice President of the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association David Drennon summarized the impact of the new technology in the hospitality industry. “The innovative team at CIRQ+ has combined smart home controls and easy access to charging mobile devices in one incredible unit,” Drennon said. “These AzLTA members are disrupting the industry with technology which improves the guest experience while delivering energy efficiency and lower power costs for hotels and resorts.” 

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